SOUNDTRACK: RINGO SHEENA [椎名 林檎]-Shōso Strip [勝訴ストリップ] (or Shouso Strip or Winning Strip) (2000)
Yumiko Shiina (椎名 裕美子, Shiina Yumiko, is known by her stage name Ringo Sheena (椎名 林檎, Shiina Ringo). She later fronted the band Tokyo Jihan.
I’m not exactly sure how I discovered this album. I think I had been reading about psychedelic Japanese bands and this album came up as a must-listen.
I found a copy on eBay (it’s also streaming) and, wow–it’s my favorite album in a long time. Ringo Sheena flirts with just about every genre of music throughout her career. Often times, including several genres in one song. But throughout this album, it’s her singing and songwriting that really stand out.
Plus, I absolutely love the sound that she gets from her bassist. I have included all of the credits from the album below because my copy of the album is entirely in Japanese. The “official” Wikipedia entry is first, but the Google Translated version is second. I’m not sure what is going on with the Google Translated version, but for most of the songs the bass is described as “Bombshell base” which is totally accurate. Interestingly, sometimes the guitar is described as “Oxygen deficient guitar” which I think just means electric, but I love that description.
So the overall feel of this album is grungy. There’s a lot of distortion among the guitars and the drums. None of the songs would be described as metal, but there are definitely some heavier rocking elements. But there is an underpining of J-Pop throughout. Both in her catchy choruses and the way her voice soars as she sings.
The disc opens with “I Am a Liar” (虚言症 Kyogen-shō) 5:26 [“False” from Google Translate]. A funky slap bass and some flutes introduce this song that has a great mix of alt rock and J-Pop. Sheena Ringo has a great voice that can sing low but also soars nicely when needed. The chorus of this is instantly catchy with a great melody disco flourishes and her fantastic vocals.
“Bathroom” (浴室 Yokushitsu) 4:15 [bathroom] is a wild song (and one that she has apparently performed in very different styles over the years). A ripping funky bass and synth lead to a great pulsing ear worm of a melody. The chorus is warm and inviting and fantastic. “Excuse Debussy” (弁解ドビュッシー Benkai Dobyusshii) 3:16 [Excuse Debussy] is another propulsive rocker with a great fat bass sound.
Things slow down for “Gips” (ギブス Gibusu) (which apparently means “orthopedic cast”) 5:38 [Gibbs] but it has a huge soaring chorus that is partially in in English “don’t you think I wanna be with you….” It’s about the catchiest peppiest thing and it is awesome. The songs is quite long–over five minutes–and the last few minutes feature a great guitar line that repeats and repeats until it breaks apart with chaotic confusion.
Things slow down even further for the gorgeous strig opening of “A Driving Rain in Darkness” (闇に降る雨 Yami ni Furu Ame) 5:03 [Rain in the Darkness]. Interesting electronic sounds and some electronic percussion mask the beauty of the stirrings and then after 45 second the strings turn pizzicato and pop song structure stars with a loping bass that plays some funky high parts. It’s a pretty song that segues nicely to the scorcher that is “Identity” (アイデンティティ Aidentiti) 3:05 [Identity]. It opens with a ripping guitar and Sheena screaming like the best of them. This song hits pretty standard metal sounds and is a total rocking freak out with her singing syllables as the guitars and drums just go bananas. Her band is really fantastic.
“Crime and Punishment” (罪と罰 Tsumi to Batsu) 5:32 [Crime and Punishment] plays like a torch song ballad, but it’s accompanied by a heavy guitar and a big fat bass that keeps it in the alt-rock arena. The juxtaposition is great. There’s a lengthy jamming coda as well.
“Stoicism” (ストイシズム Sutoishizumu) 1:46 [Stoicism] is a short interlude. Her voice is manipulated while she’s singing a simple melody as bouncy synths underscore the whole thing. It flows into “A Broken Man and Moonlight” (月に負け犬 Tsuki ni Makeinu[3]) 4:14 [Lose dog on the moon] which sounds like a grunge version of “Closing Time” until the loud distorted bass crashes in and upends everything. The end totally rocks out.
“Tidbits” (サカナ Sakana[4]) 3:43 [Fish] opens with a harpsichord and the makings of a bubblegum pop song. But as the verses come in it feels kind of noirish with horns and a great catchy chorus. The end of the song features that noir bass and a piano.
“Sickbed Public” (病床パブリック Byōshō Public) 3:16 [Patient Public] has super distorted drums and a heavy bass rumbling underneath her whispered vocals until it switches to a bright J-Pop chorus. “Instinct” (本能 Honnō) 4:14 [Instinct] has a menacing opening of sound effects and turntables that meld into a super catchy poppy melody with wild bass. The verses slow to a slinky sound, but that chorus is undeniable–especially when the whole song shifts up a note midway through.
The disc ends with fun watery sounds that bloop and blip for the opening of “I Am an Addict” (依存症 Izon-shō) 6:23 [Dependence]. The song begins with a delicate synth but there’s a fun fun soaring chorus (of course) that you can’t stop humming. The song and disc end with ends with three minutes of everyone jamming at the end of a show when the star has left the stage and the band is just going to keep playing until they can’t anymore.
I haven’t really looked into much more by her–although I did enjoy the one Tokyo Jihen song I heard. This album is so good I’m afraid to explore anything else for the time being. So I’ll just enjoy this one.
[READ: July 1, 2020] Fuku Fuku 1
Konami Kanata wrote the wonderful manga Chi’s Sweet Home about a family who adopts a cat. It’s wonderful and is apparently one of many manga about cats. Even though it’s sweet and adorable there are occasionally weird thing that make it seem more adult than it seems to be (the word pissing is in one of them, which seems a little odd for a cute book).
The framing device of the book is an older woman looking at pictures of her cat FukuFuku when she was a kitten. FukuFuku wants to see them too, which means lying on them, of course.
And so there are 24 short pieces about kitten FukuFuku’s introduction to living with this woman. I understand that the book is translated, so I don’t know if the cat sounds are translated as well, but I love that when she tries to pick up the kitten for the first time, it says “Mii?” And when she grabs for it it says “Mya”
The translator also has a lot of fun with the kittens’ action words: Skoot, Bound, Dash, etc.
The book mostly follows the way that FukuFuku is a holy terror to the older woman but she can’t get mad at the kitty because she is so darn cute–we can all relate to that.
FukuFuku splashes milk all around, tugs fish off the counter and eats Bonito Flakes. She manages to give the kitty a bath (I didn’t know cats would ever stand for that).
Kanata loves to draw the mundane things that make a cats world so interesting–swatting at moving things like water drops, butterflies and people’s feet.
There’s also the perilous moment when a cat falls asleep on you which means you are trapped for hours until they get up.
Sometimes FukuFuku gets to go outside–her reaction to nature is wonderful. Although she’s a bit intimidated by the larger cat who makes the sound “Brrnya.”
The story also shows the seasons. FukuFuku is initially afraid of a jack-o-lantern (I didn’t realize they used them in Japan) but then curls up in it. She also plays with the ornaments at Christmas time.
In the game Neko Astume which I loved (until I got a new phone and lost all my kitties), there was a kotatsu. I really didn’t have a good sense of what it was. But this story explains it, when the lady pulls it out on a cold night. It’s a heated table with a blanket over it to trap the heat under the table. Genius!
Despite some familiar holiday scenes, the story also has uniquely Japanese holiday moments too. Like when she is practicing her calligraphy (sadly, her work is translated so we don’t get to see the beautiful kanji).
Perhaps the most fun one in the book is Fuku in Wonderland, which is when FukuFuku has a dream in which she is, yes, Alice in Wonderland, even wearing a dress. Hilarious.
The final story,m when FukuFuku meets a kitten is very cute as well–showing that cuteness doesn’t have to be feline.
This is a warm and familiar book that should make any cat person smile. The drawings are super cute as well, with great expressions and wonderful sass from FukuFuku.
- Kitten FukuFuku
- Why She Can’t Get Mad
- Water and bubbles
- The Key to Friendship
- You Called?
- A Love of Moving Things
- The Kitten ad Summer
- Napping is the Kitten;s Job
- Dangerous Heat Wave
- Practicing with the Scratching Post
- Kitten’s Big Adventure
- The Kitten and Halloween
- The Kitten and Treats
- The Kotatsu’s Debut
- Fun Ornaments
- Cold Night
- For the New Year
- Let’s Play!
- First Snow
- FukuFuku in Wonderland
- Calling to Play
- Benefit of the Kotastu
- Flower Viewing Happiness
- The Puppy and the Kitten
~~~~~~
勝訴ストリップ Album credits.
“Kyogen-shō” [Falsehood]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice : Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Yukio Nagoshi – electric guitars, acoustic guitars [Oxygen deficient guitar and acoustic guitar : Nagoshi “Ramune” Yukio Late King]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base : Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Noriyasu Kawamura – drums [Adhesive Drum : Kawamura “Christ” Mother]
- Koichi Asakura, Asa-Chang (from Asa-Chang & Junray, ex-Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra) – drums, percussion [Brawl Drums and Percussion : Asakura “Asachan” Koichi Master]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program : Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Toshiyuki Mori – electric piano [Temptation electric piano : Mori “Glissando” Toshiyuki]
- Chieko Kinbara Strings – string section [Koshou Strings : Kinbara “High Society” Chieko]
“Yokushitsu” [bathroom]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals, piano [Voice Voice and Furious Piano: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Naked Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program: Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Yuta Saito – synthesizer, harps [Malicious synth and eaves harp : Saito “Daddy” Yuta]
“Benkai Debussy” [Excuse debussy]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Masayuki Muraishi – drums [Men’s Drum: Muraishi “Kenso” Masayuki Senior]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program: Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Makoto Totani (from Thinners) – guitars (uwamono) [After all Uwamono: Thinners (playful guitar: Makoto Totani Syntactic and chorus: Masato Minagawa )]
- Makoto Minagawa (from Thinners) – synthesizer, chorus (uwamono)
“Gibs” [Gibbs]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Fighting Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Fighting illness base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Noriyasu Kawamura – drums, tambourines [Fighting Disease Drum and Tambourine: Kawamura “Christ” Mother-in-Chief]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama & Hiroshi Kitashiro – programming [Fighting Disease Program: Dr. Hiroshi Kitajo “Filter”]
“Yami ni furu ame” [Rain in the Dark]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Clothing Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Noriyasu Kawamura – drums, tambourines [Adhesive Drum: Kawamura “Christ” Assistant Manager]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program: Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Ittetsu Gen Strings – string section [Oshin Strings: Tsuruichi Toru wins commemorative orchestra]
“Identity” [Identity]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals, electric guitars [Voice voice and furious guitar: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Clothing Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Masayuki Muraishi – drums [Men’s Drum: Muraishi “Kenso” Masayuki Senior]
- Makoto Minagawa – tambourines [Dynamic Tambourine: Chairman Minato “Fint” Masato]
- moOog yamamOTO (from Buffalo Daughter) – turntables [Turntable and turntable: Yamamoto “Mooog” Niou Tachidachi]
“Tsumi to Batsu” [Crime and Punishment]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Kenichi Asai, Benzie (from Blankey Jet City) – electric guitars, tooth flute [Cool Electric Guitar and Whistle: Ken Asai “Benji”]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Good looking bombshell base: Master Kamiji “Harenchi” Seiji]
- Masayuki Muraishi – drums [Good looking male drum: Muraishi “Kenso” Masayuki]
- Yuta Saito – organ [Good looking malicious organ: Saito “Daddy” Yuta]
“Stoicism” [Stoicism]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals, electric guitars [Voice voice and furious guitar: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Rino Tokitsu – the sample of voice [Pronunciation sample: Togitsu “Concourse” Rino unnie]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program: Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Clothing Tuning Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
“Tsuki ni Makeinu” [Dog losing to the moon]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Yukio Nagoshi – electric guitars, acoustic guitars [Oxygen-deficient guitar: Nagoshi “Ramune” Yukio Late King]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Koichi Asakura, Asa-Chang (from Asa-Chang & Junray) – drums [Brawl Drum: Asakura “Asachan” Koichi Master]
“Sakana” [Fish]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Clothing Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Noriyasu Kawamura – drums, tambourines [Adhesive Drum: Kawamura “Christ” Assistant Manager]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Program: Vice Chairman Nobuhiko Nakayama “Oképit”]
- Yuta Saito – electric piano [Malicious Willitsa: Saito “Daddy” Yuta]
- Yokan Mizue – trumpet [Genuine trumpet: Mizue “Bagpipe” Deputy Manager, Western-style building]
“Byoushou Public” [Hospital Bed Public]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals, electric guitars [Voice voice and furious guitar: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Clothing Guitar: Nishikawa “Switch” Sugen Slave]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Masayuki Muraishi – drums [Men’s Drum: Muraishi “Kenso” Masayuki Senior]
- Toshiyuki Mori – organ [Temptation Organ: Mori “Glissando” Toshiyuki Director]
“Honnou” [Instinct]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Shiina “Masochist” Apple Komusume]
- Yukio Nagoshi – electric guitars, acoustic guitars [Oxygen-deficient guitar: Nagoshi “Ramune” Yukio Late King]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Bombshell base: Master Seiji, Kameda “Harenchi”]
- Yuta Saito – piano [Malicious Piano: Saito “Daddy” Yuta Former Chief]
- Masayuki Muraishi – drums [Men’s Drum: Muraishi “Kenso” Masayuki Senior]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Tragedy Synthesizer: Nakayama “Oképit” Vice Chairman Nobuhiko]
“Izon-shō” [Dependence]
- Ringo Sheena – vocals [Voice Voice: Ringo Shiina]
- Susumu Nishikawa – electric guitars [Electric guitar: Susumu Nishikawa]
- Seiji Kameda – bass guitars [Electric base: Seiji Kameda]
- Noriyasu Kawamura – drums, tambourines [Raw Drum and Tambourine: Tomoyasu Kawamura]
- Toshiyuki Mori – piano [Live Piano: Toshiyuki Mori]
- moOog yamamOTO (from Buffalo Daughter) – turntables [Turntable: Yamamoto Moog]
- Nobuhiko Nakayama – programming [Synth programming: Nobuhiko Nakayama]
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